Everything To Lose
by worsteversever
Summary: When a girl is found dead under mysterious circumstances, in the common room of the prestigious Gavaldon Private School, her classmates take it upon themselves to find the murderer in their midst. Assisted by an irritable detective and a renegade Police Officer, they soon discover far more than they ever bargained for... ON HOLD


**Chapter 1:**

Hester wasn't sure if it was the screaming or the thundering of feet that woke her.

All she knew was that five seconds later, she had fallen out of bed and straight into the midst of complete chaos- her roommates were running around yelling, the screaming from downstairs hadn't stopped and was drilling into her head like a power tool, and, as she stumbled to her feet and glanced blearily at the clock, it was 5 am- three hours before they were supposed to get up.

Something was wrong.

She stuck her head into the hallway, which was even worse- girls were running down the stairs, yelling and falling over each other. Hester, irritated and sleep deprived, grabbed the nearest person, spinning them to face her.

"Sophie, what's going on?" she demanded.

"How am _I_ supposed to know?" Wailed said girl, pushing her blonde hair over her shoulders. "I'm going to look like a _hag_ tomorrow, I need at least nine hours sleep-"

Hester ignored her complaints, striding away and flinging open the stairway door, shoving past at least six other girls, and, taking the stairs two at a time. What on earth could've happened that was this dramatic? They were in a rich, boring-as-hell boarding school. She kicked the door to the common room open, prepared to yell- and lost her breath.

 _What the hell?_

The entire female population of Gavaldon Private School was gathered in the common room, surrounding something in the middle of the room, all talking at full volume. Paunchy Dot hurried up to her, face drawn and pale.

"Hester! It's Reena-"

She was interrupted by an ear-splitting wail from the centre of the crowd. Hester crossed to the coffee table and stood on it, trying to see over the heads of the crowd. She could see two girls knelt with their heads obscuring whatever was causing the hysteria. Beatrix, beautiful Queen Bee, was sobbing hysterically, mascara tracks down her cheeks, comforted by an equally upset Millicent and – wait.

Where was Reena? The devoted follower of Beatrix, best friends with Millicent? Hester felt her stomach sink as she remembered what Dot had said. Surely not…

"MOVE IT, LADIES!"

Hester spun and fell off the coffee table as Jade Ellison came storming in, her bright green eyes flaying anyone who stared at her. Everyone fell silent- Jade had a reputation for being extremely scary when she was woken up prematurely. She'd thrown an encyclopaedia at Mona's head last exam week.

"WHAT THE HELL'S GOING ON? IT IS 5 IN THE BLOODY MORNING!"

 _My thoughts exactly._ Hester grouched to herself.

"Jade, it's bad." Dot muttered. The brunette ignored her, pushing through the crowd of stricken girls.

"I swear to God, if this is like the high heels incident-oh, _shit."_

Jade seemed shaken enough to shut up, so it must be bad. Hester looked over her shoulder and nearly threw up.

Reena was lying on the floor, limbs thrown out in a grotesque position, a horrifying expression of terror on her face. She had gone stiff and pale, and her mouth was _black._ Now she could see whyBeatrix was hysterical. It took a lot to make Hester freaked out, but this definitely qualified.

 _What happened to her?_

She heard herself speak, like she was at the other end of a long tunnel. She acknowledged the words no one else had dared to say.

"Reena's dead."

She heard the ripple of gasps run through the group, and there was a thud as Flavia fainted. Obviously not everyone had actually been aware of the situation. Sophie's voice cut through the air.

"Dead? How? When?"

Anadil turned to her, irritated.

"Do you think we'd all be standing here if we knew that, Princess?"

Sophie frowned and shut up, but someone else chimed in from the back.

"It's a fair point, though. Why haven't we done anything yet? We've just stood here, crying and doing nothing."

The clamour of voices rose again, and Hester felt her temper rising with it, until Dot met her eyes and shook her head warningly. But it was too late.

" _ARE YOU LOT REALLY THIS STUPID, OR ARE YOU JUST INEPT AT EVERYTHING?"_

She roared. Everyone turned to her.

" _A GIRL HAS BEEN KILLED, AND I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU, BUT I THINK MAYBE THE POLICE WOULD BE HELPFUL?"_

Jade spoke, sounding incredulous.

"Wait. Hester's right. Are you saying that _nobody's gone to get Professor Dovey, or called the cops?"_

She swivelled to the girls. Everyone shuffled uncomfortably, looking at everything but the two.

"For god's sake. We're an elite private school for girls, and nobody thought to maybe alert a competent adult?"

"Apparently not." Anadil muttered. Jade sighed in annoyance.

I'll do it, then. Millicent, go and get Dovey."

Jade pulled out her phone and dialled while Millicent, still crying, ran out the common room along to the Head's office.

"Hello? Police, please. Yes. There's been a death at Gavaldon Boarding School. Yes- wait, really? But- Okay. Thanks."

She hung up and stuffed it back into her pocket, looking confused. She surveyed the crowd again, and Hester wondered what the hell had just been said. It was difficult to confuse Jade, but this had obviously done the job.

"Who called them before?" Jade asked.

"No one." Kiko piped up. "I was here when they found her. Why?"

They could hear running footsteps in the corridor- hopefully Dovey could take control. For once Hester was glad of the old bag. Jade pursed her lips, suspicious, as blue lights began to flash outside, bathing the room in an eerie glow. Hester suddenly realised what had happened.

"Someone obviously did. Because apparently they're already here."


End file.
